Thorne & Daughters Rocking Horse Cape White Blend 2020

The Rocking Horse Cape Blend is made up of a variety of 35% Semillon Blanc, 26% Roussanne, 16% Chardonnay, 15% Chenin Blanc, 6% Clairette Blanche.

The wine is composed of a number of carefully selected vineyard sites in the Western Cape. The aromas are yellow plum, kumquat, lemon thyme, soft brioche and crushed oyster shell. In the mouth, the wine starts broad and rich, resolving into a keen line of acidity supported by a gentle tannin.

The vineyard selection supports Thorne and Daughters’vision to deliver a blended Cape White wine of depth, texture and subtlety. In sourcing Roussanne, Chardonnay, Semillon, Clairette Blanche and Chenin Blanc, they are looking for both heritage and young vineyards which all bring their own unique elements and ability to “speak” about the place in which they are grown.

Rocking Horse is the cornerstone wine and takes its name from a wooden rocking horse that was made for the winemakers’ daughters out of old oak barrel staves. This signature wine is where all the work comes together to make the most complete wine.

Picking is done early and based mostly on taste, with an eye on the style of the wine that they’re aiming at. They are not looking for big alcohol expression and prefer subtle wines that show ripeness while being restrained and elegant.

The grapes are whole-bunch pressed and no treatments or additions are used on the juice. This hands-off regime on the juice really helps to develop the character of the wine. The juice is then racked off the heavy solids and taken to old oak barrels of various volumes. The wines are fermented naturally and they are allowed to go through their subsequent malolactic fermentation. They are then monitored carefully for the next few months until they “settle down”, at which, sulphur dioxide is added.